Acupuncture works by inducing body's own painkiller

[Sabre]

Article

An article in a recent issue of Nature Neuroscience indicates that at least one of acupuncture’s reported benefits may finally have concrete support and a proposed mechanism of action thanks to laboratory experiments. Researchers from the University of Rochester Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, and the National Institute of Health report that a neuromodulator (a chemical agent secreted by neurons) called adenosine is the key to why acupuncture lessens pain associated with inflammation and chronic neuropathic problems...

Adenosine is a natural pain killer that the body produces, so the first thing the researchers wanted to do was figure out if acupuncture increased the concentration of adenosine in the tissues surrounding the needle. They inserted needles into mice right below the knee and rotated the needles every five minutes over half an hour. Mice receiving acupuncture had about 24 times more adenosine in their tissue fluids compared to their baseline concentrations, and the levels remained high even an hour after treatment...

The next question was whether the increased amount of adenosine affected a mouse's response to pain. The researchers performed acupuncture on two groups of mice: one suffering from inflammatory pain and one experiencing neuropathic pain. They found that a half hour acupuncture session alleviated symptoms in both populations. Treated mice with inflammatory pain showed a higher thermal pain threshold (10.6 seconds before withdrawal from a heat source compared to 3.9 seconds without acupuncture) and over a 3-fold improvement to touch sensitivity. Similarly, animals with neuropathic pain became less sensitive to thermal pain (11.4 seconds compared to 3.1 seconds without treatment) and saw over a twofold recovery in touch sensitivity.

Pretty interesting. I always find it some what amusing how often homeopathic medical treatments that have been used for year are validated by science and suddenly given credibility.

[complacent]

Pretty interesting. I always find it some what amusing how often homeopathic medical treatments that have been used for year are validated by science and suddenly given credibility.

Agreed. We're just starting to figure us out.